Traveljunkees, Destinations, and Adventures 2017
A couple of weeks ago while feeling a bit down about being in hibernation season, I decided to write a memoir/travel log about my 2017 trips and adventures. I'm currently 8,000 words in, three chapters complete, and right now in the book, I'm in a dark theater in Salem, Massachusetts, straining my ears for the opening bars of "Rains of Castamere." Laughing anew, remembering the different adventures.
Meanwhile, my cousin Craig Henry is dealing with the cancellation of his Tokyo trip, which would have given him fourteen foreign countries in the calendar year of 2017. Globe trotting, collecting passport stamps, making memories, meeting new friends, that's what being a Traveljunkee means.
The Traveljunkees is a group, website, and a movement spearheaded by my cousin and a few others. The notion of standing still is anathema to a true Traveljunkee, because life is not meant to be a monotonous grind. Instead, it's supposed to be a sustained adventure, always planning, always researching, and always moving forward.
In 2017, my passport stayed in its place, being pulled out twice for London and Toronto, two planned trips I was forced to cancel. Sigh. Lol. I managed to move around a little bit, by automobile and airplane, and I had a great year.
I started counting the states I visited in 2017, and a huge grin spread across my face. From January to October I visited twenty-two states for vacation purposes. Wow. Mountains, oceans, lighthouses, dive bars, restaurants, yacht shopping, whiskey, museums, I had a great year.
Looking at my year and my cousin's year, I want to point out to people that everyone has their own destinations, bucket lists, and daydream journeys to pursue. I remember years ago my mother said she wanted to visit every casino in America, a daunting task. My cousin Craig is determined to visit every continent, and as many countries he can. Me? I have five states left before I've visited all fifty, twenty-six baseball stadiums to go (I think), and a whole gang of foreign countries to see. God willing and da' creek don't rise, all of us will travel to the places our hearts desire.
Recently, Craig asked fellow Traveljunkees to post a video about why they love to travel. I tried, but my camera timed out. Lol. I love to travel because I want to see the places I've read about, eat foods I've only seen on television, listen to accents only heard in movies, immerse myself in a different culture than my everyday life, stumble along using rudimentary Spanish, and meet new people around the world.
Dig, I learned how to salsa dance from a female bartender in New York City, kissed a pretty woman in the shadow of a New Hampshire lighthouse, hugged a stranger in Omaha, wrote my name on a beach in Maine, ate grapes off of the vines in the Napa Valley, and watched the sun disappear into the Pacific Ocean. Life is meant to be lived outside of the walls of our everyday existence. Let's go.
Craig informed me today that his 2018 itinerary will start in Dubai. Me? I'm ending my hibernation in February, seeing places that'll make me weep, while enjoying Lowcountry Boils, music, etc. Charleston, I'm coming, accompanied by my backpack and laptop. It's a movement.
Follow Craig Henry and other Traveljunkees at www.thetraveljunkees.com and Thetraveljunkees on Facebook. Be inspired. As for me, you can catch me at Marlon's Writings on Facebook, marlonhayes.wixsite/author, and you never know, we might run into each other somewhere or anywhere... My 2017 memoir is titled 'My Suitcase is Always Packed,' coming in 2018.
